Declined for scotia line of credit

[legallybrunette123]

Title is self explanatory. Has anyone had any experience being denied for a line of credit? I was given the option to appeal the decision with a co-signer but I don't know if I have a reliable co-signer. I will be trying other banks as well but after being declined at one Im afraid it'll be the same outcome at others. 

Has anyone had any experience with this? Any advice? 

 

Thanks 🙂 

[TheHungJuror]

I've never applied for a LoC, but I would definitely recommend going to multiple different banks/lending institutions for this. The specific policies for one lender are probably not the same for the others, so I would be extremely surprised if you don't get approved for some type of LoC if you can prove an acceptance to law school. 

 

Keep in mind, I am assuming you haven't already racked up massive debt and haven't tanked your credit somehow else. If not, definitely shop around for the best rates if possible.  

[DABMAN]

Found this, looks like it could shed some light on your situation. My advice is to just apply to other banks or get a co-signer.

 https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal/advice-plus/features/posts.5-reasons-why-you-might-not-be-getting-approved-for-a-credit-card.html

From the site:

1. You already owe money If you already have outstanding loans, lines of credit or credit cards, it can be harder to get new ones.

2. You’ve been shopping around for credit If you have been applying for credit in different places recently like getting a car loan, a store credit card, another line of credit, etc., it is known as 'credit seeking behaviour.' This can be a potential concern for a lender as they’ll be wondering why you have been focused on getting access to new credit. Lenders may see it as a sign you’re have money problems or that you are maybe about to take on too much debt.

3. You don’t meet the requirements of the credit card you are applying for Some cards have requirements like a certain minimum income level. You could have a great credit score but if your income level is below the requirements, you likely won’t get the card. Make sure to read through the requirements of the card before you apply.

4. You have an unstable employment history If you are new to the work force, have a history of frequently changing jobs or are recently self-employed, your odds of getting approved could be lower. Why should you find out your credit score?

5. You don’t have a lot of experience borrowing money If you haven’t used credit much before, like if you are new to the country or young, it can be harder to qualify for credit. It can be challenging since you need to have credit in order to show you can handle it properly. Lenders might be more likely to approve you for a credit card with a lower limit (this will also help you build a solid credit score). Having a good credit score can usually help if you are applying for credit. If you aren’t happy with your credit score, here are a couple ways you can try to improve it. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by DABMAN

[luckycharm]

1 hour ago, legallybrunette123 said:

Title is self explanatory. Has anyone had any experience being denied for a line of credit? I was given the option to appeal the decision with a co-signer but I don't know if I have a reliable co-signer. I will be trying other banks as well but after being declined at one Im afraid it'll be the same outcome at others. 

Has anyone had any experience with this? Any advice? 

 

Thanks 🙂 

Did they tell you why?

[Renerik]

I just asked a family member who's a financial planner at one of the big banks. She told me the most common reasons to be denied a PSLOC is because of poor history keeping up with payments on former lines of credit, abysmal credit, and too much debt (Mortgage+car loan+line of credit+...). She didn't mention law specifically but said that some banks are weary of certain professional programs (chiropractic medicine) and are worried about issuing PSLOCs for less reputable programs within those fields of study.

[Toad]

What is in your credit report? Do you have late payments, collections, etc? You can check Credit Karma for your Transunion score/report and Borrowell for your Equifax score/report.

From what I remember when I was neurotically reading all of the declined PSLOC threads when I got into law school is that they don't care all that much about score, but they can be pretty brutal when it comes to collections or late payments. 

I also remember quite a few people being able to get an RBC PSLOC despite being rejected at Scotia. So you may want to try out some other options.

Edited June 29, 2021 by Toad

[legallybrunette123]

7 hours ago, luckycharm said:

Did they tell you why?

No unfortunately. They said they don't have access to why it was denied lol

5 hours ago, Toad said:

What is in your credit report? Do you have late payments, collections, etc? You can check Credit Karma for your Transunion score/report and Borrowell for your Equifax score/report.

From what I remember when I was neurotically reading all of the declined PSLOC threads when I got into law school is that they don't care all that much about score, but they can be pretty brutal when it comes to collections or late payments. 

I also remember quite a few people being able to get an RBC PSLOC despite being rejected at Scotia. So you may want to try out some other options.

No collections! A few late payments during covid.. brutal times for most people I'd imagine. Kind of sucks being rejected on something like that though. But thanks for the RBC suggestion! Gives me hope haha

[SoIWantToBeALawyer]

I just applied for a line of credit with Scotia and the representative I spoke with said you get approved as long as you have a decent credit score, have been accepted to a Canadian law school, and are a Canadian citizen or equivalent. Do you know what your credit score is?

I would definitely try appealing with a co-signer or different banks. I'm surprised they don't tell you why, did you speak with a representative at your branch or did you contact the person listed on their site for your specific school? I remember seeing posts on LS from people who were rejected going through their branch representative but were approved going through the representative for their school, some branch ones don't really know a lot about the PSLOCs.

[Rainology]

I was rejected by both CIBC and Scotiabank before I started 1L. I wasn't given a reason as to why, but I suspect it may have have been because I got a new credit card about 9 months prior and it dropped my credit score to about 700 (previously 790~). I contacted the Scotia rep again half a year later when I saw that my credit score bounced back, and was approved for the full amount.

I think sometimes it could just be a number of different factors (current lending policies, your credit score, credit history) that makes or breaks your application. Try some other banks, but if that doesn't work out, you can always try reapplying a couple months down the road. Also, in case you didn't know, you can check your credit score with most banking apps these days.

Edit: I also want to specify that I had no late payments at all and my credit history is sparkling clean. I'm fairly certain it was entirely because of that credit card, which ironically was pushed onto me by CIBC... Ended up closing that card after I opened my LOC.

Edited June 30, 2021 by Rainology

[sunshine]

I've been dealing with Scotia for a PSLOC, and the rep I spoke to told me that they are getting more critical of applicants since COVID started (bank policy I guess?), so she said it may be tougher this year for people to get approved on their own. But she did say that with a co-signer it would be much more likely to be approved. Good luck! 

[HY12345]

Hi guys, thought I would contribute:

Got in off the waitlist two weeks before school started, automatically contacted the Scotia rep associated with my school. Horrible experience - completely apathetic to my situation, took a little bit shy of two weeks to get back to me, dodged my emails/calls and completely blew off a meeting. 

Went to RBC, the rep I dealt with was AMAZING. Mind you, my credit score is average but I had a few late payments and a history of high credit utilization. He went out of his way to ask me to provide a reason for the late payments to submit to the undertakers, asked for an exception, and got me approved within the course of 3 days. Absolute lifesaver, could not recommend him more. I'm not sure if I am allowed to post his name here but please PM if you are in a similar situation. He got 100% of his applications approved this cycle, some of which got declined at other places. 

Also, I think this has been said, but go to the bank you do regular baking with. I went to Scotia because I heard it's the best, but I've been banking with RBC for 10 years. Also, not sure how much this differs with schools but I got approved for 125k with RBC (I initially thought it was just 90k). Hope this helps! 

[Constantine]

On 9/1/2021 at 11:52 AM, HY12345 said:

Hi guys, thought I would contribute:

Got in off the waitlist two weeks before school started, automatically contacted the Scotia rep associated with my school. Horrible experience - completely apathetic to my situation, took a little bit shy of two weeks to get back to me, dodged my emails/calls and completely blew off a meeting. 

Went to RBC, the rep I dealt with was AMAZING. Mind you, my credit score is average but I had a few late payments and a history of high credit utilization. He went out of his way to ask me to provide a reason for the late payments to submit to the undertakers, asked for an exception, and got me approved within the course of 3 days. Absolute lifesaver, could not recommend him more. I'm not sure if I am allowed to post his name here but please PM if you are in a similar situation. He got 100% of his applications approved this cycle, some of which got declined at other places. 

Also, I think this has been said, but go to the bank you do regular baking with. I went to Scotia because I heard it's the best, but I've been banking with RBC for 10 years. Also, not sure how much this differs with schools but I got approved for 125k with RBC (I initially thought it was just 90k). Hope this helps! 

Similar experience as well. the Scotia branch I went to was somewhat unprofessional. Nobody would pick up my calls and eventually I was told I needed a co-signer. I’m left very unimpressed with them as their customer service was sparse and their processing time has taken ages (I’m still not approved or rejected yet). 

While waiting for Scotia to process my application, I submitted an application to RBC and was approved within a work day. No co-signer needed. Mind you RBC is my main back. 

Not sure what really happened, but I’m happy I’m approved regardless. 

[myth000]

Scotiabank has representatives who specialize in loans for each particular law school.  There is a list of them you could google.  It might be best to contact them rather than your branch.

[Renerik]

Ymmv. I called up a small local branch and did my PSLOC application through their mortgage broker. I got a killer deal although I only got 1/2 credit cards they offer to law students. The broker had never done a PSLOC application before so I might have gotten lucky.